Send-and-return envelopes



May 17, 1960 Filed NOV. 16. 1953 S. HARPMAN SEND-AND-RETURN ENVELOPES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 2- M ATTORNEY May 17, 1960 s. HARPMAN SEND-AND-RETURN ENVELOPES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 16. 1953 I N VENTOR BY 60L Hfl/PPMW/V,

WMATTORNEY 2,936,946 Patented May 1'7, 1960 This invention relates to envelopes, and'more particularly to send-and-return envelopes of the type in which the same envelope can be used for correspondence from the sender to the receiver and from the receiver back to the sender. g

A number of types of envelopes have been designed for this purpose, but none has been completely satisfactory for varying reasons. Perhaps the principal dissatisfae:

tion in envelopes of this type is that they are somewhat more expensive to produce than the usual one-way envelope. For example, certain prior envelopes employ more than one flap for sealing the envelope, and others require more than the normal amount of paper in order to provide room for the placing of addresses on the envelope. It is 'the object of the present invention to provide a send-and-return envelope which avoids the disadvantages of prior envelopes of this type. V v a It is another object of the present invention to provide a design for a send-and-return envelope, which design can be used with most, if notall, of the different forms of envelope pockets, such as those formed with a diagonal seam, a side seam, a center seam, and an open end. It is another object of the invention to design a sendand-return envelope which is compact compared to known envelopes of that type, and which may easily be mailed without sealing or can be mailed with sealing means such as a staple or a gummed tab securing the open edges of the pocket.

It is another object of the invention to provide an envelope which is adaptable to business use and has only one side for a send-and-return address, leaving ample space for advertising, if desired, on the reverse side of the envelope. 1

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which- I Fig. l is a perspective view of the invention showing the flap folded inside the envelope;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along lines 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the flap withdrawn from the inside of the envelope;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the envelope showing the flap sealed to the front sheet of the envelope;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along lines 5--5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a front elevational view showing an arrange ment for sealing the envelope;

Fig. 7 is a front elevational view showing an alternative arrangement for sealing the envelope; and

Figs. 8 and 9 are front elevational views of alternative embodiments of the envelope.

Referring now to the drawings, Figs. 1 to 5 show one embodiment of my invention. In this embodiment, the pocket portion of the envelope is formed by a back sheet 16 and a front sheet 10 which is sealed along the center at seam 12 and longitudinally along the bottom by flap 14. It is to be understood that my invention embraces all arrangements for forming the pocket portion of the envelope, as is demonstrated with reference to Figs. 8 and 9 of the drawings. In the preferred embodiment of my invention, the front sheet 10 has an address window 22 through which the address on the contents of the original letter may be seen. The window may be a slot window or covered with transparent materials.

Attached to the back sheet 16 of the pocket portion is a fiap 18 having a longitudinal fold 20 along the center of I the flap. The flap 18 is of suflicient width to cover the window 22 when the flap 18 is sealed to the front side 10 of the envelope, as shown in Fig. 4. An address is printed on the back of flap 18 so as to be visible when the flap is in the position shown in Fig. 4.

A strip of glue 24 extends longitudinally along the edge of flap 18. The width of the strip of glue is diminished along a portion of the length indicated at 26 in orderthat the glue will not adhere to the contents of the envelope when it is sealed over the window 22. By

adopting this arrangement, it is possiblev to efiect a sav-,

ings'of'adhesives anda savings of approximately a half inch of paper, which assumes significant proportions.

whenv tremendous quantities of such envelopes are to be prepared.

When the envelope is used by the original sender, the contents to be-mailed are placed inside theenvelope, and the flap is folded inside the envelope over the contents 28 :1"; as shown in Fig. 2. The address of the receiver, which has'been typed on the contents, will-be visible through window 22 and will not be concealed bythe flap 18;

since, when the flap is folded and inserted in the en-, velope, it only extends down to the window as shown 'in Figs. 1 and 2. l

The envelopecan be mailed as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, 'or if it"is desired to seal the envelope, an arrangement such as that shown in Figs. 6 and 7, to be described more fully below, can be used.

When the receiver wishes to return the envelope with a remittance or other contents, he withdraws flap 18 from the pocket portion of the envelope and inserts the contents to be returned. The flap is then sealed along the strip of glue 24 as shown in Fig. 4. As indicated above, the address of the original sender has been originally printed on the back of the flap 18 asshown in Fig. 4 so that the envelope will be properly directed on return.

Figs. 6 and 7 'show alternative arrangements for sealing the envelope when it is to be originally sent with flap 18 folded inside. In Fig. 6, a gummed label 32 is used to seal the open edges of the envelope. label may contain the instructions slit seal carefully instructions under flap so that the envelope is not destroyed. Additionally, it may be desirable to provide the gummed label with perforations along its length, imme-- diately adjacent the upper edges of the envelope to fa-- cilitate the opening of the envelope by' the original receiver.

Another manner of sealing the envelope is shown in Fig. 7 in which the envelope is sealed simply by driving a staple 34 along the upper edges. This is perhaps the simpler way of sealing the envelope, and should find favor as a time saver by businesses in which the volume of correspondence is not suficiently large to require an automatic envelope sealer.

Figs. 8 and 9 show alternative embodiments of the invention which make it clear that the invention is not restricted to the specific form of envelope shown in Figs. 1 to 7, nor is it restricted to the specific arrangement for forming the pocket portion of the envelope.

In Fig. 8 is shown an envelope having a front sheet The gummed 3 a joined to the back sheet 42 along the edges 44 and 46. A window 48 is formed in the front sheet and arranged in the central portion of the envelope closer to the bottom of the envelope than in the embodiment of Fig. 1. The flap St is arranged to be folded along line 52 inside the envelope, over the contents thereof, when the envelope is originally sent, The arrangement corresponds to that shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The flap 50 has a strip of glue 54, the width of which can be diminished as at 56 if desired, so that the glue will not adhere to the contents of the envelope when it is being returned. Al ternatively, the flap can be extended so as' to leave a sufiicient width below the window to form a proper seal.

A still further embodiment of the invention is shown in Fig. 9. This is a windowless envelope in which the address is typed on the front sheet of the envelope as shown.

The front sheet 60 comprises three flaps 62,64 and 66 which are joined together along diagonal seams 68 and 70. A flap 72 has a full line 74, and the flap is of sufiicient width to cover the area containing the send address.

In this embodiment, it is not absolutely necessary that the flap be folded since there is no envelope window which might be concealed. However, because of the length of the flap, it is expedient to provide a fold for ease of handling.

In all the embodiments, the back of the flap is provided with the return address which is concealed during the sending of the envelope and visible during the return of the envelope.

While I have, in the above description, disclosed what I deem to be practical and eflicient embodiments of my invention, it should be well understood that I do not wish to be limited thereto as there might be changes in the arrangement, disposition and form of the parts without departing from the principle of the present invention as comprehended within the scope of the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A send-and-return envelope comprising, a pocket .4 portion formed by back and front sheets joined at bottom and side edges thereof, means forming an opening in said front sheet through which an address on the contents of the envelope will be visible, a flap attached to the free upper edge of said back sheet and of sufiicient width to extend down over said opening with a very small portion below said opening, a strip of glue along the edge of said flap, said flap having a central crease along the length thereof to enable said flap to be folded inside the envelope over the contents thereof without extending down to said opening, and means forming a return address on the outside of said flap.

2. A send-and-return envelope comprising, a back sheet and a front sheet joined together at bottom and side edges thereof, means forming a Window in said front sheet, a flap attached to the free upper edge of said back sheet and of sufiicient width to extend down over said window, said flap having a central fold along the length thereof to enable said flap to be folded inside said envelope over the contents thereof without extending down to said window, a strip of glue along the edge of the length of said flap, said strip being of substantial width over. a portion of its length but diminished where said flap covers said window, so that said glue will not adhere to the contents in said envelope, and means forming a return address on the outside of said flap.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

